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...because the simplest of words become stories for a lifetime...
magic wand
Magic wand is an indispensable accessory to any magic story reading. It simply makes listening and engaging with the little ones so much more fun!
The whole exercise started from wanting to make a magic wand quickly, because as I was told 'I had to have a wand when telling the story' and so we set out to craft one on the spot... and after some time we needed a different wand for every book.
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Materials needed:
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any type of stick, straw if you can reinforce it works as well
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glue, scissors
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paper, crayons, glitter
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colour ribbons
How to make it:
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Take your stick and put a little bit of glue at each end. Then wrap a ribbon around it in a twisting motion.
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Next cut out the end of your magic wand, make it 2 identical shapes and they can be anything- star, heart, diamond, circle, triangle...you name it. Colour it in and do not forget to add some glue and glitters. The more the better!
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Next take two pieces of ribbon and stick it on the back end of one of the shapes. Once done, stick the two shapes together at the end of your stick and you are done.
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Skill development
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fine motor skills
- mathematics
Inspired by 'Room on the broom' by Julia Donaldson
Related topics: xx
shape house
mission addition
Math is an important part of child's educational growth, so let's try to make it fun.
Learning addition and subtraction becomes a chore for many children early on, especially if it is repeated over and over again. Create this simple calculator that is fun to play with and also creates a relationship, since they are the little ones are the ones making it!
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Materials needed:
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old shoe box
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2 paper cups
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paint or colour paper and white paper
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clips, scissors, glue
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pebbles, stones, small balls or any small toys
How to make it:
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Start with the old shoe box. Paint it all over, or cover it with colour paper. Next cut a small door at the bottom and two holes (paper cup size) at the top.
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Cut out the bottoms of the paper cups and stick them in the two holes on the top.
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Stick the clip at the top of the box.
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Lastly prepare some math problems you want the little ones to practice.
How it works:
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Insert the toys through the cups according to the problem. Then open the door and count how many you have in total. Works for substraction as well.
Skill development
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fine motor skills
- mathematics
Inspired by 'Mission Addition' by Loreen Leedy
Related topics: science
Recognising shapes comes early in life and they are all around us. Why not put them to good use?
You learn the names of all the shapes. Circle, square, triangle, star...but can you also do something with them? Here is just one of many things you can build with the shapes that you just read about.
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Materials needed:
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colour paper
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glue, scissors
How to make it:
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Cut various shapes out of different colours. In this case:
1 big triangle
1 big square
1 circle
1 rectangle
2 small squares
2. Place your shapes to make a house (as pictured) and stick it on a paper.
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Skill development
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fine motor skills
- logic
- spacial awareness
Inspired by 'The shape song swingalong' by Stevesongs
Related topics: xx
What time is it?
Telling the time becomes an important skill very early on. Nowadays the digital clocks are becoming more common, but being able to tell the time with the analog clock is still a necessity. Why not make one and have fun?
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Materials needed:
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thick colour paper, scissors, marker pen
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button and a string
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needle, tape
How to make it:
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Mark a circle of desired size and cut it out. Then cut out the two hands, one longer and one shorter.
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Mark out your time dial with numbers.
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Thread a needle, and push it through the 'hands' and the centre of your clock. Fasten a button at the front and I recommend using tape to fasten the string at the back. Make sure it is tight so the hands don't fall down.
Skill development
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fine motor skills
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telling the time
Related topics:
clock
Inspired by 'The Completed Hickory Dickory Dock' by Jim Aylesworth
the weather sounds chart
How to make it:
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Start with the paper base, mark a circle (you can use square or other shapes if you like). Brainstorm different weather and either draw them or cut out and paste pre-printed ones.
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Here you can get creative, decorate the weather windows as you like, I used cotton, golden paper, white paper cut into tiny squares, bubble wrap and cut out umbrella. This step is really up to you, get creative.
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Lastly prepare the hand. If you have paper fastener you can reuse the chart as you rotate the hand, but you can simply stick it on as well.
Skill development
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fine motor skills
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imagination and creativity
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weather recognition
Inspired by 'The weather sounds' by Ashlyn Anstee
What is the weather today?
This is a nice craft to start with when teaching or taking about different weather. The great thing is that you can make it as simple or as complicated as you like.
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Materials needed:
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thick paper as a base
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scissors, glue, paper fastener
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either marker pens or pre-printed pictures of different weather
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various items to decorate the weather pictures
Related topics: weather chart, weather jar,
Charlotte's web is a children's classic and should not be missed from your reading list. Here's an idea of making your own little Charlotte.
Why not make your own hero from this story? Here I suggest making a spider and either naming it Charlotte or the children can name the spider any name they like.
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Materials needed:
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paper plate
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scissors
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crayons/paint/marker pens
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craft eyes
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pipe cleaners
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whole puncher
How to make it:
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Paint spider eyes (8 usually but as many as you like really) or stick the eyes on.
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Colour the rest of the plate.
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Punch eight holes and weave pipe cleaners through to make legs.
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Skill development
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fine motor skills
- learn about spider webs (biology)
Inspired by 'Charlotte's web' by E. B. White
Related topics: xx
charlotte's wb
Hare and tortoise
rain rain go away
Tortoise and the Hare is an all-time classic, not only fun to read but also educational. So why not make it more memorable by creating a cute, but over-confident bunny.
This bunny is easy to make, it is suitable even for younger children.
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Materials needed:
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paper plate
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glue, scissors
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colour paper
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cotton balls and pompoms
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craft eyes/pencil/marker pens
How to make it:
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Take the plate and paint it if desired. Draw/stick the eyes. Stick the pompom nose in the centre of the plate.
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Trace glue in two semicircles from the nose and stick the cotton buds.
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Draw the mouth under the nose.
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Cut two long ears and stick them on.
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Skill development
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fine motor skills
Inspired by 'Hare and the tortoise' by Aesop
Related topics: xx
Where does rain come from? This is a fun extension to any weather related topic.
Once you touch on weather there are so many activities that you can do! From science to crafts, outside activities and exercise. Rain is one of the easiest ones' to start with, so let's make an impressive umbrella with some rain!
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Materials needed:
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crayons and ice-cream stick (or similar)
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laminator or iron with towels
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plastic sheets
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scissors, glue
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paper plate
How to make it:
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Start with the paper plate, cut it in the middle in waves to create the top of the umbrella. Decorate it as you like. Then cut the rim of the umbrella for the handle.
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Shave or scrape some of the crayons on to the plastic sheet. I started off with blue but then it soon turned to rainbow coloured rain. You do not want to shave too much because it will create more of a torrential rain impression, unless that is what you are going for.
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Put the plastic sheet in the laminator and enjoy the magic. If you do not have a laminator, you can put a cloth under and on the sheet and use the iron on low heat. Piece of advice iron in straight lines from top to bottom.
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Stick the umbrella to your rain and you are done.
Skill development
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fine motor skills
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imagination and creativity
Inspired by 'Rain, rain, go away' by Caroline Jayne Church
Related topics: weather chart, weather jar,
Rosie's walk is a good and simple story to teach about the farm but most importantly about prepositions. Fox tends to be the villain but is often liked by children.
Rosie's walk is a nice book, but in this case, I particularly like the Weston Woods Studio animation. It is good to couple the two together for a change, to simply spice up the reading routine, but not to introduce a new trend, in my honest opinion.
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Materials needed:
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paper plate
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glue, scissors
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orange and pink paper
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black pompoms
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craft eyes/pencil/marker pens
How to make it:
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Trace the outline of the plate on the orange paper, cut the circle out and paste it on the paper.
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Fold the sides of the plate to create a semi-triangle that becomes the snout.
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Stick the pompom for the nose.
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Draw/stick the eyes.
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Cut two larger orange triangles and two smaller pink triangles. Paste the pink ones on the orange ones and paste them on top to create ears.
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Skill development
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fine motor skills
Inspired by 'Rosie's walk' by
Pat Hutchins
Related topics: Hare and the tortoise,
rosie's walk
Let's sing about aliens...or planets...
The five little men in a flying saucer is a fun book to start on talking about the Earth, planets, the solar system and possibly aliens. What is even better is that it comes in a song format with a familiar tune that is so easy to relate to.
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Materials needed:
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piece of plastic or old bottles
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pain and brushes
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scissors
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string
How to make it:
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Cut your plastic sheet or bottle into the same size strips. Make holes at both ends of the strips.
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Pain the strips and let dry.
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Make a knot at one end of the string and bring the other end through your bottom end holes of the strips.
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Keeping the strips bent outwards, bring the string through the top end holes creating a ball shape. Tie a knot at the top once finished.
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Skill development
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fine motor skills
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explore ideas about space, solar system and aliens
Inspired by 'Five Little Men in a Flying Saucer' by Dan Crisp
Related topics: xx
5 little men
Emperor's new clothes is a classic that should be included in every child's library.
This activity just makes the idea of clothes so much more interesting, especially for the girls that like to dress up, but also for boys to ignite their own interests. ​
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Materials needed:
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glue
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blueprint or painting
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flowers, leaves, and petals
How to make it:
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Collect your flowers and leaves.
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Order them around to decorate the clothes and stick them on.
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Skill development
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fine motor skills
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sensory
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use the opportunity to teach the lesson behind the story
Related topics: xx
emperors clothes
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